What it's like to become a golf club captain

Gulp! Well it’s official. I am now seniors captain at Dunston Hall Golf Club on the outskirts of Norwich. I have my own parking space for 12 months. 

And I am nervous. Very nervous. 

Many club captains perform what amounts to ceremonial duties. They are captain in name only. Dunston Hall is not like that. It has an incredibly active seniors section, with around 115 players.

I have retired from full-time work and I reached the conclusion some time ago that this was a position I could only undertake if I was no longer working.

I don’t want to let anybody down. And I have some very hard acts to follow. Gary Harrison, the captain I am succeeding, has been an absolute joy and has been incredibly popular with the membership. 

The Challenges of Being a Golf Club Captain

He knows the names of each and every one of the seniors section - that is no mean feat. I am not quite there with that yet. I reckon I can identify around 50% of them by name. So that is the first thing I need to put right.

Since joining the club I have played with the same two golfers, one of whom is my vice-captain, and we have concluded that this is something that is going to have to change in 2026. If I am going to get to know everybody then I need to mix up my tee-times, and that is right at the top of my priority list.

One of the traditions at Dunston Hall GC is that the seniors captain sends out a weekly update and that is about the only thing that does not concern me. 

I made my living as a journalist and am pretty confident that this is one task that I can perform with some degree of competency. I am also acutely aware that the members will be keeping a close eye on my weekly reports - so I cannot afford any spelling or grammatical errors. I would never live it down.

But there are other parts of the captaincy that are causing me to lose some sleep.

What You Have to Organise as Golf Club Captain

We play a host of home and away team matches against other clubs. These are 12 a side and it will fall upon my shoulders to play in every match, to get sign-up sheets on the noticeboard in plenty of time and to pick the teams. Around 36 golfers played in these matches in 2025 and one of my targets is to increase that number this year. These matches are great occasions, especially the ones that involve playing away from home. They are always played in a great spirit and are as cheap as chips. Of course, one of the issues will be picking the right teams, giving everybody a fair crack of the whip and coming up with the partnerships that are going to work best.

I have also arranged a fixture which will see the seniors section taking on the ladies - something that has not happened before. And I have set up a mixed fixture against another Norfolk club - we all hope this will become an annual event.

I have plans to make more of our Captain’s Day, but my biggest challenge for 2026 is my Captain’s Charity Day. 

We have managed to raise the magnificent sum of £8,000 in each of the past two years so the pressure is on to do even better this time. All the more so because the chief executive of the local charity I have chosen to support just happens to be my son! It is a strange sort of pressure. It involves finding hole sponsors, chasing people for auction and raffle prizes and praying that the weather is going to be kind.

There will be speeches to be made and there is pressure to get these right too. Do I include a joke or do I just play it straight? 

I am lucky. Very lucky. I will be supported by an incredible committee who work tirelessly for the senior members at Dunston Hall. 

I have served on this committee for almost two years and am constantly impressed by the work, the time and the effort these gentlemen put into the club. 

We have a fantastic weekly fixtures secretary who makes sure we get the tee times we want and who always manages to slot in individuals who have either forgotten to put their names on the weekly entry sheet or suddenly find that they can play. And then there is our general fixtures secretary who not only arranges the team matches but has also offered to sort out the handicaps for all our pairings for me. We also have a secretary who holds everything together and, together with the outgoing captain, has talked me through everything I can expect to encounter in the months that lie ahead. 

Time Pressures of Being a Golf Club Captain

Since retiring, my wife and I have lived a pretty full and active life. We have had plenty of long weekends away and several memorable holidays but I am aware that if I am going to do this captaincy properly then I am going to have to cut back on those in 2026. I am fortunate enough to have a very supportive wife who wants me to have a successful year. Sadly, arthritis now prevents her from playing golf but I am determined to get her involved, especially when it comes to planning our golfing social schedule.

I know there are going to be some surprises but I am certain there will be nothing to top the ignominy of my final competition as vice-captain. 

I turned up to play on Tuesday and there was a steady drizzle. If you have been following Matt Holbrook’s desperate attempts to complete his first 18 holes of 2026 you will know the challenges he has faced to get out there and play. This wasn’t proper rain as far as I was concerned so I donned my waterproofs, signed in and waited for my playing partners. The first one arrived and told me he wasn’t going to play. He was followed moments later by my other partner, who said the same thing.

I said: "Lads, it’s a drizzle - and it’s going to go off in 30 minutes. Come on, let’s go and play."

They weren’t keen and suggested we have a coffee first. Sure enough, the rain eased and out we went. We should have teed off at 9.15am. Two of us hit our opening tee shots at 9.30am. The third member of our group kept us waiting for a further 10 minutes before arriving on the tee. 

You know what’s coming, don’t you? 

After our round, we discovered that somebody had reported us for missing our allotted time. And he was right - we had broken the rules. It meant we had to be disqualified. I had played poorly but my partners finished first and second. But none of our scores counted.

I have a feeling that it is going to be a while before I live this down. On the other hand, things can only get better. Can’t they?